Encourage
by TheRealHoldim
Summary: Mickey observes the relationship between the Doctor and Rose, and how he fits into the equation. Set sometime after The Girl in the Fireplace.


**Encourage**

It was easy for them to get in; with a flourish of his psychic paper, the Doctor had granted them access to one of the most exclusive balls on Earth.

Mickey couldn't help but feel disappointed by this fact. After all of the stories Rose had told him of unbelievable planets and extraordinary creatures, he thought they would be a bit more adventurous than his home planet.

But adventurous is why he thought they had been taken to this extravagant dance in the first place; the distinct coldness between his two other travellers a reminder of what happened when the unexpected comes into play.

No, the Doctor wanted somewhere safe to go tonight; somewhere to forget what had occurred on the spaceship on Mickey's first trip. Well, more importantly, somewhere Rose could forget about the five hours she waited for him with no hope of getting him back.

So as soon as they entered the dazzling golden room filled with the most influential people the nearby area had to offer, the Doctor had quickly shooed them away to mingle with the other guests with encourages for them to have fun.

Rose had seemed to want to respond to his words quickly, and had left his side to approach a group of men chatting away in a corner. Soon she was twirling around the dance floor in one of the boy's arms, others requesting to take his place after the orchestra in the corner moved on to their next tune.

This is what Mickey was observing as he stood near the outskirts of the room, out of the way of the many couples who were also expressing themselves to the slow paced music. He kept his gaze on how her hair glistened in the chandelier's light, how her cream dress fluttered around her ankles. And he knew he wasn't the only one with his eyes on her, as many had now noticed her presence and the way it seemed to glow around her form. But none of these people were important. The only one who made a difference was the oddly pinstriped clad man with his back against the far wall; trying to feign nonchalance as he watched the scene before him.

Out of all of the men in the room, he was the only one who seemed to hold any significance to Mickey; the only one who had the power to change the world in which he knew.

Oh, who was he kidding? This man had changed everything already. It was too late to start trying to hold some claim over Rose; the alien had already taken away that. But, as Mickey thought it over, maybe the Time Lord had actually given him some of his strength back after the recent events which had occurred. Rose was no longer with the Doctor in the way in which he was used to, and appeared to avoid him whenever she could. Although Mickey was certain that they actually hadn't quite made it past the friends stage, their recent actions were nothing like the glued-together behaviour from them he had seen before. Maybe he still had a chance, after all.

As he studied the Doctor's features more carefully, Mickey started to pick out the emotions that held the man silent and still; so very different from the bubbly personality he usually witnessed. It seemed that he was in some kind of pain from what his ancient eyes were displaying, and there appeared to be hints of-wait, was that longing?

Mickey began to process this information, and suddenly became very aware of their surroundings. The lavish ballroom and fancy dresses all screamed at him of a certain spaceship and its contents, making him realise the reason behind the Doctor's gaze. He felt a rush of anger surge through him as he noted the similarities in Rose's dyed blonde hair, and the clothes she was garbed in, and hoped that the alien's eyes would turn to face him so he could see just how much he had discovered of his idea.

The Doctor's head did move slightly to his right, but Mickey's confidence quickly died down as he looked straight past him and placed the side of his head against the wall. It appeared that he was listening carefully to something on the other side, as he had his ear firmly pressed against the spotless white surface.

As soon as he had taken this position however, the manic haired man took away his focus and reattached it to the girl who was now in yet another's grasp as they moved across the room. Mickey watched on in confusion at this action, and held back against his urge to confront the Doctor about his newfound interest in posh lifestyles.

It wasn't long before the Doctor shifted himself again, this time also putting his left hand against the wall to look more intent on his task. It was a more familiar position to see the Doctor in; interested in (albeit made-up) strange sights and sounds around him than in the "normal" happenings that held his attention tonight. This time Mickey was more prepared to what the man was going to do, so he turned his attention away from him and to what could be behind the Doctor's strange behaviour.

It didn't take long to work out the reason for his movement, as Mickey saw Rose looking over the shoulder of her dance partner at the man who was investigating the blank wall he was leaning against. Sure enough, when the woman glanced back away, the Doctor returned to his former position to face the room before him.

_Seriously?_ Mickey almost snorted in laughter when he saw the exchange between the two. It was so strange, so satisfying, to see the impressive Time Lord embarrassed at his own thoughts and shy at taking what he wanted.

The initial want to giggle quickly faded though, as Mickey reanalysed what he had thought earlier. It was clear now that this wasn't a selfish trip to try and find a replacement for a certain French courtesan. No, this was for a different reason entirely. The Doctor wanted to punish himself.

Now as Mickey observed him, he again noticed the hurt in the man but could assign it to a cause. Maybe the Doctor had understood how Rose had been reacting to him these past few days, and realised how it had pained him in turn. This was a way for him to experience her jealously and anger but in a safe environment where he believed nothing would come of the dancing and flirting in which she was taking part in.

It wasn't hard to place the longing after that, and Mickey was impressed by how he had deducted the emotions of a man who often bragged about the superiority of his restraint. One thing did settle uncomfortably in Mickey's mind at these revelations, though: he was never, ever going to get Rose back.

He had had doubts ever since she was first whisked away by the strange man with the big ears, and they had only grown with time. The Doctor always had more to offer than he did; whether it be visiting distant planets to see the universe's wonders or, from what he had understood about the events briefly explained to him at Christmas, his own life.

With his new, pretty body, the alien's appeal only grew more, and Mickey didn't think it would be long before they finally realised what everyone else could see, and gave in.

There was one thing holding them back though, he thought. The Doctor was still keeping up his barriers between making the relationship between him and Rose something more than it already was. Well, that and they both always seemed embarrassed anytime someone commented what a nice couple they would be.

Mickey didn't notice her straight away, as he idly wondered whether the Doctor invited him on board to try and keep his relationship barriers in place. It was only when he heard her childish giggle, that Mickey clearly saw Rose stood in front of him wearing her tongue-in-teeth grin.

Shortly Mickey found himself matching her smile as she offered him the chance to dance with her. He readily agreed, and placed his arms on her waist as she wrapped her's loosely around his neck. They started to move slowly around the room, in a less than coordinated fashion.

Mickey couldn't help the smug satisfaction that ran through him as he saw the now unrepressed jealously laid out over his supposed rival's features, then looked back to the girl in his arms. His mood was dampened however, when he saw that her attention was also on the solitary figure and it took a few seconds longer for her to turn back to Mickey.

It started off well. Rose was in a good mood as she gossiped about the men she had seen during the night, and Mickey enjoyed just having her there with him. But it soon became obvious that they weren't quite moving to the same beat, the same rhythm, as one another.

When Mickey heavily stepped on Rose's heeled foot, he tried to extract himself from her arms while mumbling an apology. She told him to keep with her though, and he obliged. Another misplaced step later and it happened again, with Mickey more determined to leave this time.

"Stay."

He really was tempted to, but it wasn't his place. Now, that he clearly thought about it, he could see how Rose kept glancing over his shoulder; her face showing concern and want as she tried to make eye contact with her Doctor.

It felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders as he gently extracted her arms from around his neck. It had taken him a long time, but Mickey could see how he was fitting into the others' relationship. They were playing with him, and with each other, even if it was unknowingly. It was a game which Mickey wasn't sure would ever end. Unless he did something about it.

He led Rose closer to the Doctor and then stopped, clearly indicating to her that she should approach him. She looked surprised at his forwardness, but then worry etched itself onto her features as she tried to gather the courage to finally ask the man to dance who she had wanted to all night.

Rose looked over to the Doctor, and was shocked to see nothing hidden in his expression to her. During the evening she had seen him apparently carefree, though her heart had quickened it's rhythm whenever she saw the emotion he was trying to keep from her.

But now it was completely displayed to her, his eagerness and anticipation at her inevitable invitation and a earning which she felt spark warmth in her chest.

Encouraged by these signs, she left Mickey's side and walked steadily towards the Doctor. Holding out her hand when she reached near, the Doctor took it gently in his own and bent at the knees to brush his lips against the back. Blushing slightly, Rose shyly smiled at him. Expressing a wide grin back, the Doctor then took a step forwards to place his hands on her waist. Rose put one palm on his shoulder, and the other one on his upper arm, before they simultaneously began to move to the music still being crafted by the talented musicians on stage.

They moved in synchronised steps, ones which the onlooker would presume required hours of practice and a willing partner. But they did not need time to perfect their rhythm, and could sense and respond to the other automatically. It wasn't the most complicated or extravagant of dances, but being unchoreographed it held an intriguing uncertainty of what was to come next.

Mickey watched on as they glided to the first two pieces of music, twirling swiftly to the quick pace of the instruments. The pair attracted many onlookers who were both surprised and interested at their moves. Mickey could sense jealously from some of the men in the crowd at how the odd looking fellow who had been brooding in the corner had enticed the delightful girl to dance; and from some of the ladies who were frustrated at never having spoken to the dashing man, let alone be held by him.

Their pace quickly changed however, when the Doctor brought Rose to an almost stand-still as the music slowed. The feelings between them also seemed to alter, as it appeared they started to talk to one another. Mickey couldn't hear the words they spoke, but it was clear that the Doctor was trying to confess something to Rose, apologising to her. As Rose's hand moved from his arm to the Doctor's cheek, his mouthed formed the words "I'm so sorry," and Mickey knew what was to come next.

The observers of the couple were shocked when their heads tilted towards each other, and their lips met. As the Doctor's arms moved more fully around Rose to press her closer to him and respond eagerly, Mickey decided to leave them to it. While he walked amongst people arguing that the events that were unfolding were either inappropriate or adorable, he was surprised to notice that he didn't feel upset over how Rose was definitely out of his reach. He was genuinely pleased for the two of them, and frankly quite relieved that they'd finally gotten on with it.

Mickey thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the night. He drank lots of expensive champagne, danced with a nice girl called Vanessa, and had interesting chats with some of the other men in the room. He would occasionally bump into the Doctor and Rose while wandering around, and all traces of the hurtful expressions that he had seen from the two in the past few days were replaced with grateful smiles.

He was having such a good time that he almost didn't notice when his travelling companions had left the room, and only followed behind when the Doctor returned shortly with a shout of "Mickey!"

**A/N: Thanks to mydoghasamoustache and justanotherghostwriter on Tumblr (imaginatively, mine is therealholdim if you want to be friends) for inspiring me, intentionally or not, to finish this fic I have been meaning to for a while (I've had the first half of this written more than a month ago).**

**Unlike many 10/Rose shippers, I absolutely love Girl in the Fireplace. I think it's beautifully written and acted, and it reduces me to tears even thinking about it. Even though she presents such a threat to my OTP, I adore Madame De Pompadour (her theme is delightful as well) but I don't support 10/Reinette (for obvious reasons).**


End file.
